The Final Frontier (Sandbox, FT, RP, IC)

[The New Earth Federation]

The Final Frontier

"Space travel for everyone is the next frontier in the human experience."
-Buzz Aldrin

Space, is a mysterious place; so vast and unknown but yet cold and empty. Ever since the creation of sentient life we have always felt a sense of adventure and exploration to this cold abyss in search for glory, treasures, resources, a higher power, etc. It also holds the possibilities of other life and centuries old questions and mysteries that where left long a go, now its your chance to lead your created empire into glory however be careful as other nations are doing to the same. As you move through the void of space you will encounter ancient secrets some that where never meant to be revealed or disturbed, causing a chain of events that will rock the galaxy to the core. Now go, explore, fight, claim and bring glory to your empire...

Links
IC: Here
OOC: Here

---

New London,
New Earth,
Arcadia,
NEF Core sector
January 1st, 2892

It was quite a rainy and gloomy day outside of the Capital Complex on New Earth, even in the rain and the over very bad weather people where still outside walking to and fro or cars moving and stopping as lights turned green, yellow or red. It was a interesting scene as the lights from cars, street lamps, building signs, and other sources seemed to reflect off the water and create sort of mishmash of color. No matter if they where Human, Dracoian, Evandari, or Fenvaria they all had places to be and things to do; Frederick smiled as he looked out the window of his study as she saw the skyscraper line of New London in the distance here he stood Chancellor of the New Earth Federation, one of the largest nations that was known in this region boasting a sting population of 450.7 billion people across 340 some planets with a 12.535 billion sized army not to mention about nine thousand ships at its disposal, however not much was known if here was other space faring nations out here besides the Communist Commune and UNA. He also wondered if there was other human nations that survived the Exodus form Earth almost three hundred years ago he remembered what they said in school about the chaos and sheer panic that engulfed the planet, much was lost that day but he hoped that one day that they could go back to Earth and see what is left. The door behind him opened and closed shut with a light click, then he heard footsteps behind him then gen stopped about ten feet away from him; turning he smiled as one of his old friends had arrived to greet him it was Paladin Lord Val Marcus. He extended his hand and the two shook hands and embraced, it has been some time since the two brothers in arms had reunited almost ten years given that Val was also the overseer to the Paladin Academy. Frederick gestured him to sit in one of the two leather chairs next to the holomap of the NEF while he walked over and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, after pouring two glasses and giving one to Val, Fredrick sat down in the chair across from him the two took a sip before Frederick spoke.

"Long time no see uh?"

"Tell me about it" replied Val as he looked around "You known I'm still not use to all of this" he gestured to everything in the room, Frederick smiled "Anyway serious business....how are you liking being Chancellor?"

"Truthful?" Asked Frederick, Val nodded and Frederick continued "Its a fucking pain in the ass as I the decisions that I make effect billions of people across this nation"

"So you are generally stressed out?"

"Yea, but luckily that was only in my first term that I was severally stressed out. Now that I got the hang of making good decisions and the other governing stuff I can manage my stress and everything. Not to mention me and Veralonia have been getting closer and closer.....I think she might be the one." Frederick said then sipping a bit more of his whiskey, Val was quite surprised and looked at Frederick he knew that the two of them had been seeing each other for some time now and while he did expect them to have a very long relationship he didn't expect them to think about getting married.

"Well that's good, you know its been sometime since the three of us got back together....is Veralonia here?"

"Yea, I'm sure that she is bored out her mind too.....ill see if I can get her to come up here" he started to get up when the door opened and Veralonia a rather tall looking Fenvarian female with brown/white furried and brown haired and cat amber eyes ran in hugging Frederick and after embracing him for a few seconds said hi to Val who now stood up. She then hugged Val for a few moments then she let go and smiled at the two of them.

"Val how is the Overseer position at the Paladin Academy?"

"Good nothing like yelling at recruits every once in awhile....other then that all I really do is paperwork and view training statuses......boring as hell"

"Sounds like my job but I deal with more governmental politics not training." They three talked for a few hours about what has happened in the last ten years, they shared stories and events. After the three hours an government official walked in and handed a data pad to Frederick he looked at the data pad and raised his eyebrow. He looked at the senor reports a bit more and then looked at his two friends, after a few seconds he looked back at the pad. Handing off the data pad he stood up and looked towards his friends "I'm sorry but I am needed as well as you Val......something has come to our attention." The two nodded and he walked out, Val was right behind him, the two went to the Chancellor's office where he sat down with the heads of the military, a military communications officers, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the heads of the other departments.

"Well....we probably should get to discussing" replied the Marshal of the Army, who was a female Fenvaria, she stroked one of her ears for a few moments as the rest started to sit down. As they did so the room darkened and a holographic display appeared, it was a map of the claimed territory of the NEF. A military communications officer stood and stepped forward, he pointed to the north-eastern portion of the map and spoke

"Recently one of our sensor outposts picked up what appeared to be a number of encoded transmissions form our north eastern border, at first glace we though that these where Communist Commute transmissions however after analyzing them we have determined that they are in fact transmissions from a different star empire. We are unable to fully translate what they say but we believe that they are information about cargo or at least some sort of broadcast."

"Why did you think that they where CC communications?" asked the Marshal of the Navy who happened to be a Evandari

"Well that is the only known nation on that side of our border, so it was safe to assume that they had expanded somewhat since the Recontact War."

"Fair enough, what are you suggesting?"

"Well I'm no diplomat but I think it would be a good idea to see who and what sent this transmission." replied the Comm officer

"Are you insane?!" worried the Dracoian looking Marshal of the Air-Force "The last time we met another space faring empire they invaded us! So why the bloody hell should we go and poke around and possibly be invaded again, it just doesn't make any sense!"

"You are just paranoid, the possibilities at establishing a network of alliances that will both defend out nation and grow it...both in culture and diversity is too great!" interjected the Minister of Foreign Affairs "I suggest that we send a diplomatic corvette to the border and try to make contact, please Chancellor......we might not get a second chance!"

"Mm....." Frederick folded his hands and looked around at the room, he thought about the results of this situation and after a few minutes he unfolded his hands. "We will send a diplomatic corvette to the border and see who and why sent this transmission. Minister, get your best diplomat and their staff on the corvette....Marshal of the Army I want ten of your best troopers on that ship too." The two nodded and left the room to carry out their orders, Frederick then dismissed everyone else. Now there was the wait as the crew of the corvette and its mission was planned out......

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

The corvette dropped out of hyperspace and the ship board AI began wake the crew from their journey, the lead diplomat who's name was Jessica Aldawolfa, as she woke from her pod the AI greeted her. She gave a sleepy grin as the AI said her last name as she was a Fenvairan and her last name was in a German (which was one of the human languages she was fluent in) for noble she wolf its funny that in a different language that her last name would mean something else, nevertheless she stepped out of the pod and she shivered as her feet touched the cold metal. At that time Sergeant Himmel walked up to her and smiled as she tried to lift herself out of the pod, he grabbed her arm and helped her up, she looked at him and smiled.

"I guess I'm not use to cyro.....how did your first experience go?"

"Terribly, I threw up the first time I tried to get out of my pod......and in about thirty seconds you might to."

"I don't know what you are talking-" she stopped in midsentence and bent over, she threw up a little mostly throwing up the nutrient replacement that she ingested before they went into cyro. Himmel chuckled a bit as she stopped heaving, he placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her up; after she was up he walked over to her locker and handed her pack

"Don't want you to get cold...better get dressed." he said, she looked at him and smiled

"Thanks...." Himmel nodded and left the room leaving her to herself she opened her pack and changed out if her sleeper clothing, after a few minutes she walked out in a sleek black uniform however she had while stripes on her arms indicating her diplomatic profession. The rest if the crew had the same style of uniform but they where in grey with gold stripes, as for the Troopers they walked around in full combat armor. When she arrived at the bridge Capitan Trevor addressed her.

"Hello, we should be arriving at the coordinates in a few moments.....do you know what we would expect?"

"No, I would advise we stay cautious.....but not too cautious to the point we seem suspicious."

"Very well ma'am....all hands report to stations!" Bellowed the captain, the crew who where mostly at their stations continued and those who weren't at their stations moved to them, after some time a radar officer turned around

"Sir we are detecting a ship in the system it doesn't match any known ships"

The captain turned to Jessica "Shall we hail?"

"Go for it"

Attention Unkown ship!

This is diplomatic corvette Diligence of the New Earth Federation, we picked up what appeared to be one of you communications awhile back we would like to initiate diplomatic talks. Also you are in NEF space we would like you to identify yourself

Sincerely,
Diplomat Jessica Aldawolfa, Department of Foreign Affairs

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum

Captain Cal remained in his seat, slouching forward, barely awake. The coffee was wearing off, shown by the fact he could barely hold his eyes awake and keep the lids from closing, as allowing such to happen would inevitably lead to him passed out for the maybe tenth time on the floor of the bridge, and having to be dragged back to his cabin by his First Mate Oria, a Kithium of the Abnorm type that was mostly glowing cyan with tiny black spots and such, was not on his agenda today. Well, officially anyway. Being barely awake can do that to a person. As he began to give into sleep, his eyelids drooping further and further, he'd get a flick to the ear from the Felinid that was just mentioned. He'd flinch, going back upright as he'd release a tiny 'meep', blinking as his bloodshot eyes went red. He'd turn to look at her as she handed him a datapad. He'd blink and grab the datapad, after taking a moment to examine it.

"What is it?" He'd ask in a groggy, tired voice as he sat upright and examined the pad.

"An unknown starship has entered our sensor range. The design doesn't match anything currently known, and it is definitely not Interex otherwise we'd of known sooner." She said in her quiet, albeit rather stern voice, vaguely accented with a hint of Latin. "Whatever it is, it-" she'd be cut off as the holographic screen around the viewport would come to life, all 40 feet of it blinking blue and flashing to a gray, taking that color before the screen would display a question mark, above a large Unknown Entity is hailing us - Text based message, no audio..

He'd stand up and look at the screen, clearing the sleep from his eyes.
"..VILAMO?" He'd ask to no one in particular. There would be a brief flash as a sphere would take form next to his head. This sphere would immediately form into a odd,
spider like entity. "Yes Captain?"

"Show me the location of the unknown vessel."

The AI would shake a leg and then, a projection of the tactical space around them for 60 AU would be displayed, the unknown vessel showing up as a red blip directly off to their right, to the galactic south.

"They sent a message, yes? Text?"

Vilamo would wave a leg, the message appearing on a holographic screen in front of him. He'd take a moment to study it, reading the message as he crossed his arms. His first mate would place their arms behind their back, clasping their hands together. He'd take a few moments to think, trying to decide what to do, his course of action.
"..Log this, but do not reply. Yet. Charge the jump drive, prepare the stasis webifier and our weapons jammers. Prepare a spiderweb virus and clear out space in our servers. But we are not going to fire on them. No one needs to die, we just need information." He'd say, stepping back and looking at the map. "..Oria?"

"Yes?"

"Get me more coffee. And prepare three teams of Templis Dragonaurs. Civil Suppression loadout. We go lethal if lethal violence is considered to be necessary and unavoidable." He'd look at Vilamo. "You, on top of all of that, I want you to ping them. A radar ping, a spot in the middle between us, get them moving closer." The spider would tilt as an acknowledgement and then move away, disappearing in a bright flash. The captain would sigh. He'd finger the button to call the diplomacy officer but would hold off, at least for now. He didn't know who he was dealing with and putting civilian personnel in danger was not his job.

"Dismissed, get us moving."

---

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

"Ma'am no response however they seem to be heading our way....." stated the communications officer, Jessica looked at the officer and then back at the front viewing window to where the ship would be coming from she frowned at the action they have taken

"I wasn't expecting this to happen" she thought to herself she then turned to Capitan Trevor "Is it possible they have only short range communications?" She asked as she folded her arms and shifted her weight

"It's possible, however it wouldn't make any sense seeing as they are capable of space flight.....unless they wanted to meet us in person."

"But then why not contact us?"

"True......purge all sensitive military data just to be on the safe side. In the meantime fire up our eng-"

"Sir we just a ping on the map!" Shouted the radar officer who seemed to be panicking

"What?! Any messages?"

"Negative.....should we move to there?" Asked the radar officer

"Yes" replied the Capitan "Do you have a read on the unknown ship.....do we have an estimate on that ship class?"

"Sir is a hella lot bigger then a corvette sir, and more armed....." Replied the radar officer who now was turned around and looked at the Capitan "However it's difficult to determine if it would fit any NEF profiles or classification."

"Possibly main type warship? If that is the case we are hopelessly outgunned.....in the meantime I want Troopers ready.....tell them to equip full body armor if they haven't already and non-lethal weapons."

"Capitan you can be serious!?" Replied Jessica in a shocked tone "This is a diplomatic mission there is no need for Troopers to be in full body armor! Think of the possible reaction that could happen if they see that!"

"I know but it doesn't fucking matter as their warship out guns us by a long shot!" He said pointing at the holomap "So if fighting does break out you can count in us getting blown to fucking smitheries! You handle the diplomatic part and I'll handle security."

Jessica sighed and nodded she then marched herself down to her cabin which was next to the conference room that would be serving as the the diplomatic talks room if they decided to engage in talks. She wondered what they would look like hopefully nothing to weird looking or disturbing.....she then thought about what kind of deals that might be available depending on how the talks went, needless to say she started to ponder a lot.....a bit more then she needed to. On the bridge the Capitan looked at the holo map and sighed he felt like he was walking into a trap however Jessica really wanted to meet these people so she would have to walk into the trap nevertheless he had five Troopers stationed at the air lock as a welcoming party, the rest where guarding the diplomats chambers, the bridge and the small armory that they had onboard. He started to hold his breath as they got closer, realized what he is doing he breathed normally trying to stop his racing heart

"Sir we just lost weapon control!"

"What!"

"We are locked out of our weapons!"

"Goddamnit.....remain calm......let's see how this goes." There was a soft thud as the ship locked on what appeared to be a docking tube. At the airlock the five Troopers readied themselves to escort whoever walked through to the conference hall. In her cabin Jessica stood up and walked to the conference room and pulled out her dats tablet she was nervous, she started to sweat as she thought about all of the situations that could arise. Nervously she reached for the glass of water nearby, she dropped it and cursed; the Trooper inside a private who's name she forgot ooured her another glass.

"Relax....you are stressing yourself out......don't think about all of this" he said

"What should I think about?"

"Something they makes you happy."

[GlobalControl]

The docking tube.

Thirty men in full armor, heavily armed themselves, lined the hallways on either side, 15 men in each one with their weaponry, being lethal, standard infantry rifles trained on the door. They weren't about to open it. They were merely a security detail to stop any sort of counter strike should one even get off of the ground. Each was dressed in the colors of the Ecadian military, being white and pitch black as per the norm for Shock troopers. Or any military element really.

Transporter room.

Beyond them, almost a mile away, all the way across the ship, thirty men, three teams of ten stepped into a large, cylindrical room of which had three translucent blue pads. They made their way into the pads as the ship's AI began coordinating everything with a precision that was impossible to match, analyzing, waiting. Once the troops were on the pad, Vilamo would be short, swift and direct. His many many eyes tracked and moved with anything on that starship, tracking the entities within as he would silently manage to creep into their computer systems, their sensor net and cameras being compromised and passively coopted.

As the last boot set onto the third pad, he sprung into action, the ship's stasis webifier activating and immediately crippling the starship's engines, preventing them from being accessed and moved. He'd jam their weapons systems as a precautionary measure, and then upload the spider web virus into their computer, before he'd then initiate a teleport, sending the thirty men to their destinations on the vessel.

NEF Vessel

Six men would, in the blink of the eye and with a ripple in the air, a pressure wave of sorts really, land on their boots with thuds in the engine rooms, raising sleek, pitch black weapons up into the air and targeting the nearest person that wasn't a Templis. One of the men would grab them by the waist and throw them into a wall, before firing a stun pulse into their spine, stunning the man and making him go limp as it burned a tiny hole in his clothes and hit the skin, leaving a minor first-degree burn mark. The other men would drop the other people in the engine room in a similar manner.

Another six would drop into the bridge, and would begin taking the crew down with their stun rifles and through the use of physical aggression, bringing men down with their hands and then pinning them to the floor before paralyzing them with stun pulses. Eight men would drop cyro, and secure the room in a similar manner while another five would drop into the armory, and five more would appear behind the marines in the airlock, each one grabbing the around the neck and then pushing the barrels of the stun rifles into the gaps in their neck firing three pulses per person, each, dropping the men like stones to the floor. The men would then grab them, place them in the center of the room, and then cuff them all with handcuffs, while the others began doing the same to the others.

The men would leave two people and begin securing the rest of the vessel, stunning anybody else that had managed to escape the initial blitz, Vilamo opening all of the doors on the way and ensuring that he cracked into their ship's comptuer and database with ease. The spiderweb virus worked like a charm, and it was already preparing large swaths of information for extraction. He did not try to mask his presence now. There was no point.

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

As the ship was being boarded Jessica walked around the room as the Trooper watched her, not knowing this private's name was starting to irrigate her also nor sing the security team with the diplomats was also quite infuriating. Looking at the human sergeant she decided to make a conversation with him, she sat down in the chair and spoke.

"So I didn't catch your name."

"Christopher Rath ma'am" replied the sergeant

"Oh nice name I'm Jessica Aldawolfa as you can guess the senor diplomat....what is your specialization?"

"Infantry"

"Why are you here then?"

"I just transferred to this outfit and was drawn to help take up security. I know not a glorious job but it helps me get experience in other aspects of the military.....I might do military police if I stay in after my three years."

"Ah, that seems fun"

"It should be"

"Now what is taking these guys so long..." she started then the door opened "Ah there you are- what who the hell are you?!" She exclaimed as two unknown soldiers walked in weapons raised. Chris smacked down on one of the rifles and started to wrestle with the first solider kneeing them on the shin and got off a number of good hits before the second solider knocked him out. Fearing for her life she backed up and raised her hands "Look I surrender! Please don't kill me! Wait... wait! Wait-" soon all of her muscles freezes up to the point where she couldn't move but yet she could see and hear everything. What the hell is going on!? she thought to herself and she was being dragged to the center of the room and handcuffed. She was now definitely panicking as she didn't know what they where going to do to her or the crew, stressing herself out she tried to move and with no progress after a few moments she stress herself out so much she passed out. Meanwhile Chris was laying on the ground watching the soldiers he didn't recognize any of their marking or gear, however some seemed to be human and others seemed to be human like.....he wondered what and how these humans escaped and more importantly who where they.

Bridge
>terminal active
>>ship AI responding
>>>queue placed
>>>>WARNING!!!
>>>>>UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS AND SEARCH!!
>>>>>>engaging firewalls and cyber warfare tactics
>>>>>>>activing Clean-slate Protocol, all senisitive military data being erased
.
..
...
....70% competition, defenses strained
>self shutdown activated
>>HAVE A NICE DAY!

As the leader of the boarding parties tried to access the ship computer a screen appeared before him detailing what was shown above, what information that they did gather was most about who the NEF was, where it was located, what races where apart of it, some planets along the frontier as well as some military data like the types of infantry, some of the vehicles used and the type of ship this was. After that little blurb of data the AI shit itself down and when into locked down mode and the only one that could unlock it was the captain or the head engineer.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st


The men would have the ship under their control within two minutes, the majority of any resistance having been taken down in the first thirty seconds of the boarding action. Each person they took down was handcuffed and bound, dragged to the lounge and placed into the room with fifteen of the men to watch them, while the others waited by the airlock. As it would cycle, a number of heavily armed Ecadian soldiers, dressed in the standard gear of the Ecadian Naval Shock Trooper Corps, would start to stream into the ship, carrying actual combat rifles, and the equipment necessary to study all of the computers, technology, and weaponry the vessel had on board. At the same time, there was, mixed in, a large number of men, women, Kithium and a few Xenostra of which belonged to the Office of Naval Operations, or Oh No as it was called. Usually Ono but still.

The fifty or so Ecadians dispersed, mixing ranks for the Templis dragonaurs as the Ecadian naval officers dressed in pitch black or fully white uniforms entered in the lounge and began setting up the equipment, which seemed to be a number of force field generators, of which they turned on once they had everything in order. The force field generators projected a energy field that acted as a barrier, keeping the 'prisoners' as they would be called inside while the Xenostra, the three who would be conducting this little meeting, would get into place.

They were almost a quarter larger than the Humans in the group, and they were either slouching or crouching. They had a very imposing form, as they had their silicon wrist blades out to be viewed, their eyes glowing that faint green and their bodies were all very much muscled and toned, fit, like that of amazons. Their tails were lashing about behind them as they raised their datapads up, one of the humans setting up a scanner and using it to start individually scanning each individual in the ground. Meanwhile, the men on the bridge began to examine, take apart and reassemble as much tech as they could.

Meanwhile..

A White and blue colored Lupine would be anxiously making her way through the men in the tube, muttering 'sorry', 'my bad', 'excuse me' and 'pardon me' in her light British accent as she tried to keep her glasses on and reach the other side of the tube. She had to squeeze between a man and woman and come out the other side, before jogging out into the other vessel that they'd just seized. She stopped to look around quickly, before she'd be grabbed by a guard, who dragged her towards the door she needed to be at and then deposited her inside, setting her onto her feet before walking out. She'd take immediate notice of the fact that ships' crew were placed behind a force field, and she found that to be.. a little bit bad for 'business', aka diplomacy. But then again she also knew that Ono would make her disappear if she interfered so she stood at the back of the room, waiting for them to finish politely, still sweating from her foot and finger pads as she looked over at them. She was visibly nervous.

The largest of the Xenostra, wearing a commissariat cap, would look up at them and set her pad down, standing up fully, her head almsot touching the ceiling.
She would cough once and then swallow, before inhaling and speaking, in a deep, albeit slightly feminine voice.
"Who is in charge?"

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

The NEF personnel within the shield where quite pissed by the most recent events that happened having the ship boarded and seized with in minutes even though their intentions where peaceful, what made it even more strange was how they got on which was mostly likely though teleportation which was years ahead of what the NEF could think of. Jessica looked around at their captors and frowned she was disappointed by the events that happened and wished that more peaceful options had taken place not to mention that those rounds that they fired at them burned part of her uniform. Like the rest of the prisoners she ignored the the Kithium that arrived, and listen to the the Xenostra.

"Well depends are you talking about the diplomatic mission or the ship in general?" Replied Captain Trevor "If you are looking for the captain I'm right here."He stood up and walked to edge of force field "Diplomacy you want to talk to Jessica" he turned to her and gestured with his head to her, scared she stood up and walked over to the force field.

Chris looked up from his down trotten state and saw the newly arrived Lupine, he was a human male with fair skin brown eyes brown hair and wore glasses which normally he would have wore his helmet but his helmet was gone which had been taken away for analysis by these Escadians. Noticing her he waved to her in sort of an awkward way unsure if it's the right thing to do while still being friendly as possible. She waved back seeing that she had acknowledged him he gestured her to come closer so the two of them can talk after she walked over he introduced himself "Hello I'm Sergeant Christopher Rath, 17th Company 11176th Legion, New Earth Federation......do you have a name?" One of the other Troopers gave him a weird look and smacked him on the back of the head then proceeded to insult him, stating why are you trying to talk to the people who captured our ship. Chris replied back stating that she was nervous and looked like she needed someone to talk to seeing as no-one in this room had taken the chance he might as well be the first to talk to her, the other Trooper rolled his eyes and went back to talking about what they hell are they doing on this ship. Looking back st the white and blue Lupine. "Sorry about that.....do. you know how long until we get to get out? I'm sure some of the diplomats really wan to get diplomatic talks up and running...... and try to repair the situation."

New Earth,
Arcadia

"Sir we haven't got a report form the diplomatic ship with in the last few days......this is most unusual should we send out another ship to investigate? This time a warship?" Asked one of Fredericks advisors who was nervously tapping on the oak wood table, he understood the situation that was very stressful and unpredictable but they needed to be calm and wait for any message that would come from the ship. Frederick stood up and walked around to the window where he looked out into the garden below

"I understand your frustration and stress, but we need to stay calm and wait......if we send another ship, particularly a warship they could take that as a sign of aggression! I rather wait for the diplomatic talks results then start a war over something silly like this. Call me cations but it's the only logical thing to do right now....also what extra ships are we going to send we have to keep a number of fleets on the NEF/CC border to make sure that they don't try anything funny. Also the fleets that are needed for anti pirate patrols. While we could share a ship do we really need to?"

"No"

"Also that portion of the nation has been experiencing patchy communications due to the radiation form a nearby supernova and meteor storms have increased." Replied another advisor

"See, let's give it a few more days and then send in another ship" The advisor nodded and sat back down.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

"You are Humans from the New Earth Federation. Explain. Earth is uninhabitable and uninhabited." The Xenostra would start the demand, and it is a demand, plainly and without a hint of emotion, staring down at the captain with dark, soulless eyes that showed nothing but just how.. alien these creatures were. They looked a lot like the creatures around them, though that was also negated by the facts they were covered in a pitch black uniform, with pitch black fur and silicon plates. It was literally a towering behemoth of muscle and possibly very deep, DEEP anger.

Meanwhile, the Dog and the guy. Right.

After being waved to, and in kind responding with a wave, she came over to him as he went to the force field barrier as well. She listened to him, but would not get a chance to reply as the man would receive a smack on the back of the head. She'd look at him with an expression of confusion and disdain, before slowly just deflating back to her default expression of 'i'm confused someone halp'. As he'd start talking again, she'd listen and then nod her head. "I don't know. Sorry.. not the Ono operators director so I can't do anything besides watch or lobby, and they don't care if I lobby them to fuc*in' stop.." She'd sigh, looking at the Xenostra. "..scary.." She'd shudder. "..I don't know when they'll let you out.. but as I'm the only uh.. 'diplomat', I'm probably going to be sent in there with you all.. soooo... yay!" She'd say half-heartedly, managing a mostly fake smile before it'd disappear. She'd blow out some air and look at him. "..I'm Tii by the way." She'd reach a hand through the shield, it irising around her and allowing it through.

[Higher Japan]

Ardonpia, Delta system

"Milady, the 'Mirage' is going well, we've even managed to finish the prototype with the required specifications, we're requesting for permission to launch it out into the outer world. I believe you discussed about breaking isolationism." One of of Kitanda's many officers said as he came in, while she was currently looking at a holographic globe being projected from her table as the sides had two horizontal rectangular screen, all three screens in blue and white as info was being sent in through the two screens as the globe showed all locations of the defense fleet. "The Mirage will be bound to be sent out along with an escort of cruisers for exploration of the outside world. Send some random admiral fresh out of the academy, they can't possibly screw up at this stage. Just in case, for all ships use AI Class WK-106. Now you may take your leave." She said as she blankly looked at him beyond the blue hologram. As he bowed out and quickly left, she turned around and looked out the window which showed a clear view of the entire planet or at least most of the industrial sector from her view.

"Sorry to interrupt supreme commander, but this is of utmost urgency." Another officer said, coming into her office as she turned around, looking at him through the blue holographic projection. "Make it fast, i'm very busy today." She said, casually pulling a bottle of whiskey out as she chugged down on it. Even now, it was still a staple throughout the empire. "Hours ago, our outlying satellite probe units have picked up and intercepted a message sent by a nation known as the NEF. The ship doesn't match out data-" Before he could finish, he would find himself against the wall as the two marionettes, both women with one in red and blue which held rapiers pinned him against the wall with their swords. "What are you waiting for? Get me a dreadnought and hunt it down now!" She shouted as he was released, before he ran away both for the orders and in fear as she walked off while the two marionettes went back to position.

Eclipse Shipyard, Ardonpia Orbit

As the loud blaring of orders came through, robots and men alike began to run about as a Splendor class dreadnought, a massive 1600 meter ship armed to the teeth with warhead missile launchers and point defense systems as it was slowly brought out into space through magnetic cranes, claws slowly bringing it out. At the same time, nearby a few more cruisers, including the 'Mirage', was being brought out with magnetic crane claws as they were all released the moment the ships were started up.

"Supreme Commander Kitanda, it is rare to see you on any other ships. What brings you here today." One of the commanding officers of the dreadnought 'Solar' said, saluting as she stood in front of a connected curved three section table which was rectangular in shape as she started it up, a map of the area based off radar readings appearing in front of her as the left one displayed a top view of the ship, all systems were at normal operation. On her right was a deactivated screen, although it would only turn on during combat. "Official business, here are the coordinates. Make the jump and send the message to the other ships." As she bowed, a chair hovered over as she sat down before an officer signaled the other ships as they all made the jump to hyper space.

Edge of Vegalax Mapped territory

As the ships jumped out of hyper space, appearing over the two ships, the ships began to scan it as the ships prepared for engagement. Looking over the situation as the right screen now came online, she sent a message to both ships.

To: Unknown ships
From: UEVN Solar

This is the dreadnought Solar, we request that you identify yourself immediately.

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

Jessica stepped folded her arms, shifted her weight, and looked at the alien with her cat amber eyes, it was interesting to know that this alien knew about Earth, a good educated guess would have been from the humans seem to be under their colors. She wondered how they met these aliens but that was a question for a different time she looked at the alien asking the question and listen she could tell that she was quite pissed off but not sure why nevertheless she answered her question,

"Well first off there are more then just humans on this ship and in the New Earth Federation, for example I am a Fenvarian" she turned to one of the nearby crew members "She is a Evandari" then to a nearby trooper "He is a Dracoian, to answer your question about Earh is that we left around 2600 before that of course you know that Earth became uninhabitable so the survivors went to the moon where are tried to build a temporary home so we can leave the system however things heated up on mars and soon war broke out, after the Martian Skirmishes, we the leaders of the remaining nations got together and agreed that the nations of earth should go their selerate ways. After some time and many probes each of the remanining nations found a system that they deemed to be acceptable, that is when we poured the resources we could in to creating ships to leave the system. At this time the NEF was known as the Northern European Federation controlling the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark." She stopped to catch her breath and look at the alien to see if she was following along for the most part she was however Jessica wasn't sure if she was happy about a history lesson. For Jessica this would help her with her point about explaining why they are called the NEF. "So after arriving in our system we settled on the most habitable planet, after doing a bit of terraforming, and began to build we named the planet New Earth. After some time we took over the Dracoians, put down a rebellion that happens on their home world, engaged in a war with another human faction and then the Fenvarians and Evandarians where discovered and incorporated into the NEF.....does this explain it?"

"The Commanding Diplomat answered your question I would suggest you release us so we can get back to our jobs, it has been twenty days since we last checked in with both our Military High Command and the Department of Foreign Affairs, most of that we have been Hyperspace I think they might be worried by us. Also if you release us we can help you with the task of identifying what and how our technology works."

"Capitan we are in no position to demand anything" she hissed at the captain turning back to the alien she continued "I am sorry for my captain's attitude as we didn't expect this sort of welcoming.....may I ask who you are? Or if you have a diplomat nearby I would like to converse with them.

As for the rest if the crew they sat back and listened to the conversation between Jessica and the very tall and scary looking alien, they where quite worried about what would happen to them and what events could unfold if this converststion when south. Either way they had to wait and most where bored out of their damn minds however some managed to grab a pack of cards or find something to do to entertain themselves for example there was a power game with about eight people going on, a few pulled out their notepads and pens then began to draw, etc.

As for the man and the anthro wolf well things seemed to be going smoothly, Chris was a bit disappointed that she didn't know when they where being released however who ever was talking to the captain and the diplomat this woman seemed afraid of them. She did look intimidating being so tall and having a very.....emotionless voice as if she was a robot. After mentioning Tii mention that she would possibly be coming in to talk to them he had sort of a grin on his face.

Finally a friendly face he thought Hopefully things don't get fucked over so I can talk to her more.....she seems friendly maybe I'll ask her if she wants to get a beer after this. Wait no, that just seems a little weird.....or is it.....god I was never good at this shit

he noted that she seemed quite nice and nervous maybe a bit more nervous then what she was before she got over here he wondered why. He shook her hand "Hello Tii, well I hope you are able to do your job and we are allowed to get out soon, you seem very cheery about your job......you seem quite nervous.....is it the job or the situation that is getting you nervous? Also what is your job?" He asked then had this wave of anxiety rush over himself about not asking if she wanted to get a beer with him, now he was getting nervous, he couldn't tell if it was from asking her the question about being nervous or something else....either way he tried his best to calm down.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

The Captain of the INV. Vindictus had registered and was indeed aware of the appearance of the new starcraft above them, and he had taken what he viewed as necessary measures to safeguard his ship, and by extension, literally, the vessel that he had just boarded. He sat on the bridge, looking at the message they had sent as the ship's shield recyclers came to life, visible outside the viewport as a wave of energy moving over the sphere that engulfed his starship, before it would come back down, the cyan wave obscuring the space beyond briefly as it moved. His shield would block any attempts to move through it, both physically and non-physically. Technological intrusion was impossible and transporting equally so, and attempting to blast into the shields and make a hole would result in a full on retaliatory attack from the ship itself. Which would probably be unpleasant for the smaller vessel.

He wasn't going to reply, but he wasn't interested in dedicating basically half the complement of soldiers on the ship to capturing the vessel for a similar interrogative strategy that was normally employed. It wasn't often one encountered another space ship belonging to an entirely new civilization.. well, not entirely new. Still, finding two was.. improbable. So he did not reply, he instead locked the ship's weapons onto the craft but refrained from firing.

---

"The cat is right." A Human dressed similarly to that of the Xenostra would say, sitting down in a chair next to them. "You're dismissed." They'd say, waving ah and to them. The Xensotra would nod and walk off, ducking out as the others would follow, leaving this one alone. He would take off his cap, revealing Very pale skin, and a pitch black tattoo of a two headed axe on his cheek, of which was more commonly associated with a now non-existent pirate group called the Turanics. He'd lay back and take off his glasses. "You're in position to make demands, Captain. And for the record we're.. somewhat sorry. But, Xenos aren't often trustworthy. And you are, in the end, Xenos." He'd take the gloves off of his hands, setting them into a pocket. "..My name is Eridanus. It's nice to meet you." He'd smile at them.

At the same time, several soldiers would enter into the room carrying actual assault rifles, each one with a flame thrower attachment. They lined up behind him, wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder, with more of them in front. The ones in front would take a knee, and raise their rifles up, all of them taking aim. "I'm going to be taking the command staff, and them alone, for a nice chat." He'd lay back. "This includes you, Captain, and your diplomacy officer. These guards, are here to make sure you don't try anything funny. You do, you die. Simple. While not the preferable way to get things done it's standard procedure. Once this is done we'll have you introduce our captain to your leader, or the Emperor to your leader, whoever they may be. Additionally," He'd look at Tii. "Tii, our 'diplomat', so to speak, will be coming inside with you to.. talk. Just talk, try to smooth things over a little. If she is hurt, the person who harmed her is going to be shot. Period. End of discussion. Now.." He'd snap his fingers. "Open it up."

One of the Ono marked humans would press a button on a holographic pad.

The shield would go down for the moment on the order of Eridanus, allowing passage, though brief.
Tii would nervously take a breath and then step through the spot the shield used to occupy, walking into the space with John, placing her hands into her pockets as her ears would wilt slightly, and her fur would rise a little. She'd take a deep breath and calm herself, fur moving back down and her face taking on a neutral expression.

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

Captain Trevor and Jessica looked at each other with a sort of questionable look on their faces, while they didn't trust Eridanus it seemed that he was trying to place the hand of diplomacy which is what they wanted in the first place not this tactical assault. This placement of guards was also quite worrying and a bit suspicious as now the crew wondered what events could have caused them to take the actions against them, going against their better judgement Jessica, Trevor and the XO walked to the force fielding opening where they exited and said hello to Tii. The three walked over to Eridanus where they they stopped about six feet away from him and waited Jessica started to speak,

"What would you like to talk about?"

The XO spoke in a very raspy and deep voice

"Not to be rude sir but you hit us as we where about to start breakfast, I would like a cook to head down to our gallery and start making breakfast.....your people can join if they so wish."

Then the Captain spoke

"Sir, I would to know the status of the ship board AI.....from my guesses it has gone into lock down no?"

As for Tii, most of the crew looked up to acknowledge her presence but most didn't interact with her as they where in the middle of a game or doing something else, however some did approach her which they introduced themselves to her they where mostly part of the Trooper complement that was stationed on the ship, like every ship and unit in the NEF they where a mixed bunch of humans, dracoians, evandari, and fenvaria. They talked about their lives, professions and about the NEF itself as well as the worlds which they came from; overall they where curious about why she looked quite similar to an Fenvarian, after questions where answer Chris walked up as he did he started to think about questions that he might have for her or well her nation in general, but when he stopped in front of her all of the questions he had seemed to disappear like some force took them from under his nose. He stood there for a moments trying to think of a question

"Um........hi, so where are from?" He said then he thought of another question "So....what do in your nation and if they let us for breakfast would you like to get some?" As he asked his last question he noticed that he was talking quite fast which he hated about himself.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st


Tii

Tii would sit down onto the ground, lying her back against the wall and bring her legs in. Turning her head, she'd look at John as he spoke, asking her the question of where she was from and what she does for her country. She'd rub the side of her head, thinking for a moment. "..Well uh.. I work as a technician, most of the time anyway. I'm training to become a diplomacy officer, since the pay is better and I get to do something besides be electrocuted and such. This is my first diplomatic assignment actually.." She'd say, looking at all of the people. The shield was already raised so she couldn't really leave. But so far it seemed pleasant enough.. so she wasn't trying to leave. Yet. "..I uh.. I'm from the Planet Epsilon Charybdis. Supposedly where the religion of Kal was spawned. Never really believed any of that stuff but.. eh." She'd shrug. "..It's cold, snows every day of the year. Most of the population lives at the equator where it is marginally warm."

---

"Breakfast huh?" He'd shrug. "..I'll do you the favor and have it sent over from our ship. After all, it's the least I could do." Eridanus would say as he made his self comfortable in his seat, reclining back. Two Ono guards, dressed in all black, would stand at either of his sides, wearing black armor and hats. They were holding weapons different to that of the other soldiers aboard the ship, that they had seen. They had a very sleek design to them and were attached to two thin cords leading into their backpacks, likely power cables. They, like the armor, were black in coloration as well.

"To start off, yes, the AI is in lock down. We don't know how to unlock it, we're not trying to unlock it. Right now we're taking a look at your technology." He'd set his hands onto the arm rests. "I would like to know more about this 'New Earth Federation' of yours. And of the condition of Earth if such information can be given."

He'd grab his datapad and start to type into it, opening two tabs, one being a requisition form and then a recording program. He'd set his tablet down in his lap as he finished with the requisition form and left the microphone on, though he turned the screen off. After a couple of seconds, a number of boxes would fall into the room from a bright point in the air, landing neatly on the floor. Then another set, and then another, until five or so packages of ten boxes of Ecadian Standard MREs were present in the room. "Enjoy, you just received about half of cargo unit one's supply of MREs." He'd say, laying back. The force field would lift. "I promise you, they're probably better than anything else aboard either of our ships." The guards would seem to begin dispersing, making for the doors, save for a few.

"Do mind the forks. They're rather sharp."

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

Chris

Chris sat down with Tii and he listened as she spoke, he took quite a note that this was her first diplomatic mission as was his too which was both funny and strange. Could it be the forces of fate that arranged this meeting? He slightly shook his head to the question, ok well maybe just little but he wasn't entirely sure as he was true all power god of the cosmos.

"Well that is good that you are getting out and trying a new field, I just graduated basic two years ago and I'm still an infantry man....I'm hoping to transfer over to the military police at some point in my military career..." he then looked at her for a few seconds "You know it's strange as this is also my first assignment for the diplomatic corp...so are you enjoying your assignment?" He paused to take a breath and think about the words that would come next "And I'm guessing you like colder weather? If you do then maybe if you can I can show you what it's like on New Earth during the winter around New Berlin......snow capped pine trees and mountains....it's quite beautiful.....like....."

Several of the nearby crew members looked at him and Tii and whispered amongst themselves some gossiped others just where talking about other subjects like the games that are on that they are missing out on, like football, fútbol, etc. He was interrupted when he heard the sound of MREs hitting the floor and turned to find several stacks of them in the middle of the floor on their side of the force field. Several members of the crew stood up and walked over to the stacks, they began to pick which ones to eat as well as compare the flavors to what they could be in the NEF....however some of the flavors where quite strange to gem. John lifted his eyebrow and turned back to Tii "So...um....what are the best MREs to get? I'm not sure what styles you have.... so...yea"

---

The XO looked at Eridanus and smiled "When are MREs ever taste good? As military men we should know that the only good food is hot food." He said with his raspy voice "Got any recommendations?"

The Jessica then looked at Eridanus and smiled as it seemed like he wanted to know more about the NEF. She had a very wide grin too, the she moved to a more serious face but in the time if her voice you could tell that she was quite happy "Well the New Earth Federation is a multi species, military republic that controls a portion of the Orion Arm, this Federation is made up....." she went on for several minutes about the several species within the Federation and their acceptance into the NEF she also talked about the size and the economy of the NEF stating that weapons, ship building, information technology, and manufactured goods where major areas. She stopped them took a breath "Sorry as for data on Earth the latest scan which was done a year ago still shows it to be uninhabitable.....I have several proposals that I think your superiors would like to hear....if it's possible to get in touch with them."

Now the Capitan spoke "I see, the we wait to unlock it....as for technology you may look at the tech but if you break it you buy it" he said in a joking manner.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

"Don't even touch the one with Spaghetti. It's terrible." She says, shuddering at the thought of it. "..The one with Steak, mashed potatoes, and beans is arguably the best, comes with cheese and crackers, jelly, and a water bottle with cherry flavoring. Better than the others." She says, standing and grabbing a pack herself. She'd examine it and then set it down gently, grabbing another and reading the label. She'd then nod and sit down back in the same spot. Once John had gotten his MRE, she would answer his other questions.

"To answer the other question, I'm.. I'm not a huge fan of the job but at the same time It's better than fixing a plasma engine." She'd say as she'd extend a claw from her index finger, and tear through the tape of which sealed the box. Once done, she opened it and started taking out the various trays and packages within, and the rather large bottle of water. There was a box of matches, a small fork and a knife, and then a set of flammable tablets, a few pots and an assortment of food. She'd gotten chicken alfredo from the looks of it.

---

"These MREs are arguably better than anything we've had in a long, long time." He'd say, chuckling. "And arguably, I'd still eat them back on Toria." He'd be handed one by one of the Ono agents who'd then take one, and f straight off through the door back to the INV. Vindictus. "..And thank you. As for contacting my superiors, I'm sure that can be arranged. Shouldn't be hard, after all the Emperor is often bored around this time." He'd smile and then pick his pad up, setting ti atop of the box as he'd start to compose a message on it. "As for a recommendation, anything but the spaghetti."

"Go ahead and eat. This might take a good while."

---

The Empire of the Sun
Aurora Borealis
Khinadia

The Emperor sat silently in his throne room, resting his back against the throne as he stared out into the orange sky beyond, listening to a total silence, the ringing in his ears as it overtook his hearing once more. He could see the oceanic firestorm that raged beyond the horizon as the flames reached high up into the sky, higher than anything on the planet. They touched the sky, and served to illuminate the otherwise dim orange sky of the planet. The firestorm was artificial, an aesthetic choice of his. He was deep in thought.

This world was the capital of his 'shadow' estate.
Where he retreated to when he felt the need to seclude himself, to take a short vacation.
The Shadow Council was the one in charge right now, and they did his bidding. He also knew a few of them had a number of tiny estates and 'shadow' countries of their own, the seventy something servants to his will having these nations for the sake of.. experimentation. They used their countries to test policies, on the nations as a whole, or singular worlds. Anything the Imperial council, the in-name government of the nation, would come up with was implemented here and what they figured out, would help them make changes, discuss, and so on. The Shadow Council used it to ultimately ensure the Imperial Council wouldn't inadvertently destroy the country, its ability to wage war, and so on. Shadow nations were simply little, concealed play grounds in a sense. But his shadow nation, the Skadian Authority, was little more than a true empire in its own right.

His mind was wandering for the moment, his focus taken away by a beep from his pad. He almost let it slip before he blinked, and caught his mistake, reaching over the armrest and grabbing the pad. he moved his hair, red in color, to the side and examined the screen as it lit up, the light making him squint. He opened the message and read it slowly, before he'd stand up from his throne and make his way out of the room, two Kithium servants arriving dressed in little more than Chitons. He came to the door and opened it, the servants taking his articles of clothing and replacing them with the clothes worn by the Ecadian Executives, that being a black and blue, stylized military Uniform that had a lot more going for it in terms of symbolism. As they fused the last seems together, he entered the room and they went ot either wall, standing there with there hands on their stomachs, facing forwards.

he tapped his hand on the button in front of him, and waited for the device to catch his presence and begin connecting to the pad held by Eridanus, his Viceroy, and the Leader of Ono.

[Hashirajima]

HNSC Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Nakigitsune-class Cruiser, NEF NE Sector Border

"Commander, the Command Fleet is preparing for transit."

Nodding, the commanding officer of the Hashirajima Navy cruiser Kashuu Kiyomitsu, one CMDR. Kimura, eyed the region map before him. "Have the rest of the division been notified too, Shuvi?" At the holo-projector beside him, the ship's AI - who had chosen the form of a young cyborg girl - made a show of flipping a clipboard before glancing at the virtual chessboard before her..

"Yamato-no-kami Yasusada and Kasen Kanesada have given affirmatives. Also, Flotilla 13 is on OBP as well, it seems. They're just a wee bit behind us."

Flatly, Kimura stared into his empty coffee mug before setting it aside. "Poor things. Send them my condolences, will you?" The OBP, or 0-Bearing Patrol, is a particularly despised patrol route for the officers and men of the Hashirajima Navy. Positioned ahead in the path of the Command Fleet, the vessels assigned to the route is scrutinised closely by high command, and for good reason - failure to detect hostile forces in this direction would result in the core of the Navy colliding right into said hostiles, and the result would be catastrophic.

Just then, the Navigation Officer did a spit-take at his screen, drenching the thankfully waterproof display in coffee. "Sir, multiple ID signatures in the next NavGrid, at least three factions I'm seeing here." That was followed up by the SIGINT Officer pulling an encore. "SIR! We've got something out there claiming to be a freaking dreadnought."

Frowning, Kimura dragged the relevant displays to his main screen. "UEVN. What do we know about this prefix again?" A few clicks from the Intel section, and a report flashed on the CO's screen. "Oh, that's just great isn't it? Those guys... Comms, send a SITREP to Fleet Command and the nearest capital ship, stat. And get Flot13 to our position." Tapping on a few buttons, two video conference windows popped up, showing two rather concerned Lieutenant-Commanders. "All cruisers, switch to stealth operation, then proceed into the sector after Flot13 is in escort formation."

"Should we not wait for reinforcements?" The CO of Kasen Kanesada asked.

"We're just going to observe, and collect data. After that, THEN we decide our next move. Nonetheless, I have informed the higher ups, and if there's a need for reinforcement, they too will act."

As the Comms Officer called out the arrival of the escort flotilla, more windows - one for each vessel - showed up. "What is the matter? I heard something about a dreadnought?" Asked the flotilla commander CMDR. Ishida from on board the destroyer Honebami Toushirou. "Are you nuts, Kimura? Popping into the same NavGrid as a capital ship with this paltry force? What if they're trigger happy-"

"It's the Remnants."

"Say what? Did you just say that dreadnought belongs to the Remnants?"

"I did, Ishida. I hope you're not going hard on hearing. And I also hope you recall the Yoshino Protocol-"

"... To keep an eye on the Remnants whenever possible? That doesn't mean playing hide-and-seek with a fucking capital ship, Kimura!"

Calmly, CMDR Kimura read through a new report flashing on his screen. "Don't worry. Two battlecruisers are on the way. They'll hang around here in case things go south."

"TWO BATTLECRUISERS, AGAINST A DREADNOUGHT! In what situation is that a source of comfort for you?" By now, Ishida was rather irate at being asked to do something that pretty much defined the term 'suicidal' in his books.

"The situation being that I'm aware of something you're not aware of?" Smiling calmly, Kimura signaled for his Nav Officer to begin plotting the fleet's jump vector.

"What is it? Spit it out now, because Naval Academy classmate or not I'll go over to your cruiser and beat your face in if you're planning something stupid Kimura so kami help me-"

"What do you know about that new battleship the higher ups are gossiping around these days?"

"- huh? ... Not much. Does it even have a name?"

"It's just finished with fitting out, and is heading to this sector for shakedown. And yes, it does have a name." Idly, Kimura dragged a file over to Ishida's conference window, transmitting it to the destroyer. "New fleet announcement. Seems like your unit hasn't received the news yet. I believe HighCom is releasing the news slowly this time round."

The frigate flotilla commander opened the file, and started reading. "HNSC Musashi, hmm... wait. Is there a mistake in that announcement?"

"Nope."

"Then... 80 KILOMETRES?!" Just then, klaxons sounded out across the bridges of all vessels present, accompanied by orange flashing lights. A signal that a capital ship is arriving and to stay clear of the arrivial coordinates of the NavGrid.

"See for yourself." Looking at one of the exterior display screens, Kimura merely watched smugly as an absolutely massive behemoth of a vessel cruised out of a wormhole. Meanwhile, Ishida on his own ship was busy picking his jaws up.

"Fine. We'll do it your way. Nav! Input the jump vector from Kashuu Kiyomitsu. We're going to go poke a dreadnought."

--------

When the flashing lights cleared from the exterior display, Kimura took one look and snorted. "You must be kidding me. Their naval architects were ripping off fucking Star Wars..."

"Sir, two non-Remnant ships are located. One has shields up, and one seem to have all systems down as far as I'm concerned." Rambling off the information his team was getting, the Intel Officer frowned. "Either someone's vessel broke down, or we just stuck our noses into the middle of a confrontation."

"Keep an eye on it, Intel. All systems, lower our signature as much as you can. Wizzo, keep weapons off but start calculating trajectories for that dreadnought, aim for the big fat thrusters at the back. We're not outgunning it so if things goes south, I want it stuck here long enough for us to get the hell away from it. Sig, try to read in on any transmissions going on. Escort fleet, keep your eyes sharp. Shuvi..."

"Yes, Commander?" The AI asked, looking up from the chessboard. "What do you need?"

"Initiate lockdown on all classified material on board, be prepared to purge them the moment we come under attack. After that, keep an eye out on your front. Call it a gut feeling, but I think there might be an unhealthy dose of cyberwarfare in play right now."

"Will do, Commander." On the AI's chessboard, her side castled the king queenside.

Shrine of a Thousand Names, Oyashima, Somewhere

"Your Imperial Majesty, the Yamato has reported back disturbances on the Hashirajima front. It appears that Those-Who-Followed have once more shown themselves. Two other nations are also present, the NEF and one unknown."

Bowing to the Main Hall once more, the Empress of Japan turned her back to the shrine commemorating the deaths of her people from the Great War, and approached her chamberlain. "I see. How has the Commander-in-Chief decided, then?"

"Admiral Mikasa seems... hesitant, to act rashly. She has activated her 4th and 5th Battleship Divisions, but has yet to send them out."

Nodding, the Empress begun heading out of the massive chamber in the Japanese Ark Ship that houses the shrine. Passing through the same torii that once stood at the main entrance of Gokoku Shrine in Hiroshima, she took a moment to observe the aged but well-preserved monument symbolising the enduring strength of her nation. "It is her prerogative. I assume the Diet has been notified?"

"Yes, of course." The pair entered the sole lift that services this level of the Main Tower, and descended.

"Then everything is fine, after all. Keep me abreast on the matter, please, Mr Yoshida."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Bowing, the chamberlain took his leave. Leaving Empress Haruna alone in the lift, the ancient but unaged fast battleship kanmusu gazing out into the endless expanse of space.

[Higher Japan]

Solar

As the crew sat in silence waiting for an answer, they suddenly saw the shields of the ship recycle and reload, the sphere conforming onto the ship. They then saw the ship's sensors say that they had been locked onto. "We've been locked onto! Raise the shields, prepare for fire.!" The Head officer shouted as one of the officers pulled a switch down, a spherical blue aura being seen from visible space as the ship was covered in a shield. As the supreme commander sat in the chair, the head officer walked over, looking worried. "Supreme Commander, i advise that you please leave, we do not have any idea of what these ships are capable off, it would be best for you to board a gunship to leave for the Mirage and return to the capital."

"I will not leave for a capital, but however i will leave for the Polaris shipyards, if anything happens you must not let them break through into our territory. If i find your body among the wreckage still alive, i will have your head." She threatened, leaving for the hangars. As he sat down in the chair, he saw a gunship slowly fly off towards the Mirage before it turned around and made the jump to the Polaris shipyards. The ship sent the message once more, requesting for identification. "Sir, we're detecting some ships jumping in. It's from what we believe to be the Japanese navy." A radar officer said as the head officer read the reports. "Bloody hell they've found us. Don't fire unless the command is given, continue to hold the shields up." The cruisers would form a defensive perimeter around the dreadnought as they also recycled their shields, along with their guns as a part of the ship's cover moved aside, revealing a few missile tubes ready for firing as each officer slowly watched the ships move and awaited for the next orders.

Polaris Shipyards, Alonia System

As the circular ring of a shipyard slowly floated around in the void of space, a small cruiser slowly approached it as a group of fighters slowly approached it before escorting it into a special bay reserved for the Supreme Commander. As she got out of the gunship, two rows of guards on each side of the entrance saluted her, as she slowly walked down the row to be greeted by Admiral Wano, a female admiral who wore a mask similar to that of other high ranking admirals. "Supreme commander, we weren't expecting you today. So what brings you here to this humble shipyard."

"Cut the bullshit both of us know what's going on here, bring me to it at once."

"Right away, please, come this way." She said, gesturing to a bot to lead them to the control room of the shipyard's production sector. As they slowly went through each hallway, flashes of black and red could be seen through the glass windows. Finally coming to the bridge which had multiple rows of officers, all typing as over looking the entire sector, in the center was a massive dreadnought as multiple smaller ships flew around it, wielding the entire ship together as it was entering another stage of construction.

"As you can see, the ship's building is going very well, in fact we are just about to begin the testing phases, although we have to fix some tiny problems in the shields and armor. But for now we have some men waiting in there as we just need a few more hours to fix all problems.

"Fire it now, i want it to be tested." Kitanda said, walking over to a control panel as she pressed a few more buttons before pulling a switch on it down slowly, the ship being slowly released into space as some ships were crushed as it was quickly launched into space. It quickly recovered from it's sudden launch as she watched it fly about in the void through a holographic screen. As a meteor came into view, the ship turned and as a red aura gathered around the circular frontal core which was revealed as the front of the ship opened slightly, a red beam being fired at the meteor, only stopping when it was blown up.

"Excellent, you will be rewarded greatly for this. It appears your proposal and team have succeeded in creating our new dreadnought. Once it is launched, prepare for it to be sortied." As she finished, she sat down in the control master's chair as she watched it dock and continue construction.

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border,
North-Eastern sector,
New Earth Federation,
January 21st

"Alright" he said as he stood up and walked to the pile, he looked through the stack for a good three or so minutes and found one that had steak on the label, grabbing it he walked back over. He sat a closer to Tii as his previous spot was taken by another Trooper who had sat down with a couple of their friends, as he sat down he then opened his MRE and started to heat up the contents. As he waited he sat back and leaned his head against the cold metal wall and placed his hands one the ground however he had placed his hand on top of hers for a second he didn't realized what he did until it was too late, looking down after heating up the steak he saw where his hand was and removed it as quickly as possible. Hopefully she didn't see that.....but most likely she felt it....goddmanit...I'm so fucking boned he thought to himself as he started to eat the MRE it was slightly better then what NEF MREs where well everything but the steak was better if it was one thing that the NEF had a taste for it was steak as well as cheese and breads but he hasn't really tried a piece of cheese. After a few moments of silence he started to ponder about the culture of Escadia

"So what is the culture of Ecadia? I know the NEF has a very German and English culture...among a few other things like how most of our lunch is steak or other meat products and interspecies relationships, and an overall more militarized culture. Its actually required by law that each NEF citizen enlists in the military where they do three years of service after their three years of basic."

---

Trevor looked at the MRE that was given and smiled he was given a MRE that had salmon with a lemon sauce, some yogurt and a protein bar. As he opened it and took out the contents he chuckled "This sounds like an NEF MRE....." after a few moments he took a bite of the salmon and saviored it "but damn this is better then an NEF MRE salmon." He took more bites of the salmon before a question rose into his head "So Eridanus.....what position do you play in your government?"

"Thanks mate" replied the XO as he took one of the MREs and opened it, he smiled as he got some fancy chicken which he could really careless about the name or what the hell was in it, it was slightly better then NEF MRE's then again NEF MRE was all about spread and they do know how to cook a steak. He sat down on the floor and continued to eat away at the MRE in peace then Jessica and Trevor grabbed a MRE and begun to eat. Jessica was about open her MRE when Eridanus handed her the tablet she placed her MRE down and answered the Emperor

"Hello Emperor I am from the New Earth Federation a mulitspeices, militaristic, interstellar republic that is out on the Orion Arm.....our ship recently came into contact with one of your ships and I was wondering if I could interest you in some agreements...like a Non-Aggression Pact, a migration treaty and maybe a few trade deals if you are interested...and maybe if things go smoothly I could arrange a meeting between you and my chancellor." After she was done talking she noticed that her heart beat had increased steadily, she bent down and picked up her water bottle where she took several sips of water from it. All of this talking had made her mouth dry she then placed the water bottle on the ground next to her she then realized how in formal she sounded FUCK, I sounded way to damn casual hopefully he doesn't take this as an insult but I'm not sure. After all this was first contact and the two nations knew nothing about each other then what just happened right now, so they had some areas that they needed to improve in which these talks where for and she hoped that with a migration treaty that people from both nations would travel to the other nation and learn about them in a more hands on approach. However these few minutes where critical as this could determine Ecadia as an ally, neutral power, or a enemy....she really hoped that the talks don't turn to the last option as they didn't need a second enemy on their border; it was already bad enough with CC.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

Tii would release a tiny, almost inaudible 'meep' as she felt the hand land on top of hers, her eye going a little wide as she'd feel his skin on her fur. She'd blink and look down at it out of the corner of her eyes, an ear drooping to the side as she'd tilt her head some. She'd seem a little disappointed as he took his hand away from hers, though that was quickly masked as she managed to make her ear stick up again. "..Well, Ecadia is a largely militaristic nation. Incredibly martial and disciplined.. very competitive as well. Contact sports are a favorite, including things like hockey, boxing, wrestling, or just full on gladiator fights. Lots of favoritism with things like Chess to.." she'd rub the side of her head. "We spend most of high school in basic training alongside actual work. Most people tend to go to the gym a lot as well since most work requires physical labor or a lot of technical skill." She'd start to heat up her food.

"Ecadia doesn't discourage interspecies relationships. Believe it or not, Kithium, Lupine, Humans are all able to breed with one another.. best friend is a Neko." She'd say as she started to open her packet of crackers and then her cheese spread. "Generally the finer points of culture vary from planet to planet. Charybdis was very heavy on technical skills since it's a shipyard planet. It also houses and provides for about seven electronic warfare groups and a carrier fleet."

"Charybdis also likes its steak. Though a lot of it is vat grown meat." She'd shudder. "..stuff tastes awful, and it's too tender. Guess it's a more acquired taste." She'd grab her butter knife. "So beyond the militarism what is daily life in NEF like?" She'd look over at him.

---

The Emperor listened intently, his f*cks to be given already being dedicated more to the talks. He didn't care too much about informality, he himself would have opened with a 'Hey' if he got to speaking first. He leaned forward some, resting his hands on the metal bar in front of him, the railing supporting his weight as he listened to her. Gradually his expression turned from stone to one of mild interest, the resting b*tch face gone, for the most part. "..A migration treaty?" He'd ask, crossing his arms some. "...a NAP.. and a.. trade deal." He'd step back, hand coming up to his chin as he'd gently rub at it. "..Alright. Well.." He'd look at the screen below that of the one Jessica's face occupied. "...These can be arranged.. though I'd like a more in person meeting with your leader." He'd look back up at the screen.

"The Non-Aggression pact works. A migration treaty will be limited to the Charybdian Gate." He'd reach down and type in a set of coordinates. "And trade can be arranged, but military technology will not be given until a meeting with your leader or leading body is arranged. There will be no negotiations on weapons until then. And any ship traffic, will be only to the Charybdian gate."

He'd press a button, and send a number of maps, coordinates and other data over to Eridanus' datapad, of which would change the coloration of its holographic screen from gray to orange. Eridanus would simply reach into his pocket and grab another datapad, of which started out as a flat piece of film that he'd flick, causing it to go rigid, stiff as a board, and proejct a screen, simialr to that of the datapd Jessica held.

"What else do you want to discuss?"

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border
North-Eastern Sector
New Earth Federation


Chris

Chris had looked out the corner of his eye to see that Tii had tilted her head a bit after he removed his hand from hers. Subconsciously he placed his hand close to hers but not touching more like a few centimeters apart, when she raised her ear again he answered her question "Well you see at it quite varies from person to person....I know for myself I get up at 0500 and go for a run return back home around 0600 where I get ready for the day. Since I'm in the military my day does from 0745 to about 1845 where I do general PT, inspection, fire arms training, martial arts training, combat drills and so on. I go to the on base gym just for some light workouts and arrive home around 1945 where I usually spend time to myself....I live alone so I really don't do much at my apartment." He at a bit of his MRE mostly the brownie as he had finished almost everything else, after take a bite he looked at the brownie with a puzzled look. He then placed it inside one of the heated bags and heated it up, after that he took a bite and was a more or less satisfied with the end result. "Damn no matter where you go can't seem to get a MRE brownie right....anyway, some nights I would go to the bar with friends have a few drinks too....since we have largely a European culture the drinking age is quite low around 17-18 depending on what planet you are visiting or live on. Sports wise you see a lot of football, soccer, cricket as well as a number of contact sports boxing and mixed martial arts are quite popular sporting events."

He looked down at his brownie and the meal he was almost done the meal which he thought was a bit better then NEF MREs however then again when are MREs suppose to taste good? In the eyes of the military it's about keeping your troops well fed and flavor while important had to take a secondary position to the more logistical problems of feeding your military. He had taken a mental note about imterspeices relationships, after that he then continued

"Yea I had some vat grown meat while doing a peacekeeping tour on a independent colony....god I was never so happy to have real steak again...you know like I said if you do come to New Earth I'll take you to some of my favorite restaurants and let you try some of the steak or other meat products there.....anyway, there is also other sports like e-sports, chess competitions etc. I was never really good at chess so really didnt get into it but really depends on the person for what they do for daily activities....as for schools our 'High School'." he said putting up air quotation marks "Is our military academy where you do learn the basics about our military, military technologies, and all that other stuff. But college degrees are usually earned when they are in basic given that we have an entire year to readjust ourselves de to the augmentations that we receive when entering the military." He pulled up a sleeve on his arm and showed it to Tii there was a faint scar that ran up the length on the underside of his for arm "Go head, you can touch it I'm not going to bite....my bones have been reinforced, have faster reflexes and stronger then a regular human" he paused then slightly cursed to himself "I meant to ask this earlier but what race are you? Hopefully I'm not being rude or anything....just I forgot....."

---

Jessica

"Well shit, that was fast." She said a loud "I will try to get in contact with my Chancellor however things are a bit......tied down as currently our comms officer isn't able to reach his station. I'm sure once he is able to do so I'll put you in communication with him. As for other talks.....what would you like to know about the NEF? As for the trade deal I'll have some economic specialized diplomats contact you or one of your advisors....." she looked at the coordinates that she had received from the Emperor looking around she asked Eridanus

"You got a pen and some paper? I would like to write down these coordinates."

---

New Earth,
Arcadia
NEF Core sector
January 21st

Val walked down the hall to Frederick's Office his heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hall several of the clerks looked up at him as he passed, he tried his best to give them a warm smile but many if then just nodded at him as some knew what he was going through but others didn't know what happened within the last few days however he could already hear the gossip about his situation. After a few moments he entered into his friends office where he was talking to Veralonia the two of them where discussing their relationship and what they where planning on doing this weekend both of them looked up as they Val enter they could tell that he was in a downtrodden state so Veralonia walked over and brought back a cup of coffee, she then handed it to Val who had now started to talk. All three of them sat down on a couch

"How do you keep going when everything goes?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Frederick

"I mean relationship wise....?"

"Well it depends on if you first found the right one or not....then you gotta make sure they you do things together.....keep in contact and communicate about problems. Only them can a relationship be fruitful. Why did something happen?"

"Yea me and Janus had a falling out....we seemed so destined to be together buy...I found him with another partner.....he said they where simply helping them or what for the last few weeks but really he was lying about it so I broke it off after a few rather heated fights about the incident, I wasn't mad at him just disappointed.....I think the arguments made it worse. Now I feel that I have lost a piece of my life without him.....maybe it's time I moved in and got into something else."

"Maybe you did always say you are interested in both sides so I'm sure that you will find someone to love....after all life and love is a tricky subject you have to play multiple hands to win sometimes you get lucky on the first hands but other times no" interjected Veralonia

"Here, Im sending you to the outer colonies in the north eastern sector to help with trouble with pirates. Also you need some R&R go visit some of the tropical worlds there while you are at it.....you need to de-stress."

"I suppose you are right....but what about the Paladin Academy?"

"I'll have your second in command run it until you get back."

Val looked at Frederick and Veralonia he nodded and left the room to go pack for his trip, of course he was going to bring his armor and dress uniform for the more work related duties, but he also packed several more casual clothing items. After a few hours he was on a transport to the North Eastern Sector, hopefully they didn't get attacked by pirates or lost like what rumors are about the NEF Diplomatic corvette Diligence.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

Tii.

"I'm a Lupine. Part Kithium. I lack the penis, however. Didn't inherit that from daddy." She'd chuckle. "We usually come in gray and black, but I got mom's colors, Tan and cyan." She'd run a hand through her hair, of which is a nice red. She would undo the ties around her pony tails, letting her hair fall back down as she'd sigh and lay back. "..Since a long day.." She mutters. "..And it isn't rude at all. It's not a very personal question as far as I care." She'd smile at him, hand inadvertently shifting a little closer as she'd move her leg to get comfortable, a pinkie finger touching the tip of his middle.

---

Eridanus would simply gesture to the tablet. "Just use the pad. It has a notepad feature." He'd smile at them, placing his hands on the box in his lap.

The Emperor would then speak again.
"Send the comms officer and the captain to go and get the ship's communications back online. I want to speak to your chancellor as soon as possible." The feed would then terminate as a few more messages would appear on the pad, and a series of changes would occur on the screen, it shifting as it took what data it could and used it to sort of personalize the pad. It was a business device, simply put. Meant for a lot of economic exchanges and diplomacy rather than leisure and such, hence it could do quite a great deal with its sheer processing power.

Eridanus would gesture to the captain. "Well, there is your permission to go back to the bridge. Bring your comms officer with you, of course. I'll have a few guards escort you."

[Arvenia]

292 EA (2892 CE)

Coven of Prophets (seat of government), Edopolis (planetary capital), Eden (capital world), Eden System, Edanian Dominion
The Supreme Prophet Sirius IV was overlooking Edopolis from his office in the Coven of Prophets. He was reading a page from the "Edenicon", the sacred book of the Edenist religion. He was praying to the religion's deity, known as the "Godfather". He preached to himself while life went as usual outside of the Coven of Prophets.

The Supreme Prophet was, however, interrupted by a Prophet named Austin Mayhew.

"My Supreme Prophet", the Prophet said. "We had for a few days ago captured a drifter who is not from our society or adherent to our faith. What should we do to him?"

"Do what is neccessary according to the doctrine of my predecessors", the Suprem Prophet responded. "You know that Apostates can't be treated softly. They despise our faith and must be punished for their bigotry towards us. Our faith is this galaxy's new government. Now go and tell prison guards what to do with the drifter."

The Prophet understood and left.

Fort Galileo (state-run prison), Edopolis, Eden, Eden System, Edanian Dominion
Two officers from the Edanian Dominion's secret state police, the Ministry of Inquisition, enters a room containing the imprisoned drifter who is seen tied to a chair with a sack over his head. One of the officers removed the sack and a third officer, possibly a leading interrogator, enters and asks the drifter some questions.

"Where do you come from?", the interrogator asked. The drifter was silent for minutes and looked up at the interrogator before he was tased by one of the two officers. "I repeat: Where do you come from?!"

"The Solar System, I think", the drifter answered. "But my family abandoned Earth 300 years ago and settled on Mars. I don't know anyway."

"Okay", the interrogator said. "But you know that we caught you flying to our territory in a shuttle. When you exited it and explored one planet for a while, my government fought you and managed to knock you unconcious. You were held here for many days and now we want some answer. You are an Apostate, you know."

"Apostate?", the drifter asked while confused. The interrogator sees that the drifter didn't get it and gets angry.

"You are a non-believer!", the interrogator said. "You don't follow our faith, Edenism. We see that you follow Shinto, a religion of Japanese origin, as evident by your belongings. Such religion is bizarre and disorganized. We prefer an organized and sane religion like our state religion, Edenism. Now you have to be extremely serious and answer us more polite. We don't like people so rude and disobedient. You know that you get your head chopped off and put on a pole so my people can see it and make fun of you because fo your religious affiliation."

"Fuck you, madman!", the drifter screamed after spitting at the interrogator. "I won't answer your questions if you are going to be a religious extremist. You can go fuck yourself, you fucking fana..." One of the officers shot the colonist in the head with a L4 pistol. The drifter's head bleed and he still sat on the chair with hands tied behind.

"Great", the interrogator said. "Now we won't get answer. But killing an Apostate is still satisfying and honorable for our society. Decapitate him and put his head on a pole for display." The officers obeyed and one of them decapitated the dead drifter with an ancient sword. The head was then put on display for all Edanian citizens to see and glorify.

The Supreme Prophet is told that the drifter was Japanese and originated from Mars according to the brief interrogation. The drifter was alleged to have drifted out of the Solar System two years ago as scientists thought in their studies. His name was recognized by his uniform as Shinji Wong, making him possibly Sino-Japanese.

[The New Earth Federation]

NEF Border
North-Eastern Sector
New Earth Federation
Night of January 21st- Morning of January 22nd
Diligence

Chris
Chris chuckled too as he listen then felt something on his middle finger, slightly smiling he quickly looked down and noticed that her pinkie was touching his finger after a second or two looking at that he then back up at Tii with a cheerful look, while the circumstances of the encounter where not ideal he was happy that he got to meet another race form outside the NEF which was a bonus as he liked meeting new people, a bit nervous when he met them but he liked the feeling of getting to know someone. As awkward it might have been it was at the least enjoyable for what it seemed both parties, he moved a bit closer as discreetly as possible but he probably failed at doing so which at this point he could care less, he also moved his hand slightly more towards he and he started to blush as while blushing he decided to ask more questions and compliment her.

"I really like those colors and you look nice with your hair down." he paused "So do you have any brothers or sisters? I have one brother who is about the same age as me....however we live two total lives, he is a doctor and I'm a soldier."


Jessica/Trevor

"Very well" she didn't even need to turn her head to tell Trevor what to do, as he already was walking to the force field and telling the communications officer that both of them where going to the bridge to bring back communications, soon all three of them had gathered up and they walked to the bridge elevator under guard. Once they where in the elevator they rode it up to the bridge, while it was a short ride it was no less awkward as no one said a word to anyone, it was like a scene out of a movie where there are several people in an elevator but yet none of them are talking to each other and there is that really annoying elevator music but add in several heavily armed guards. After the awkward elevator ride they stepped off and headed to the bridge, Trevor was the first one through the door where he walked over to the AI console and powered it up, after a few seconds he unlocked the AI. Soon a AI projection of the ship AI stood in the center projector, it was a heavier balding man with a fancy coat and a top had, he had a cigar in one hand and a cup of whiskey in another; Trevor looked at the AI and shook his head

"Churchill."

"Cheerio Captain Trevor" replied the AI in a British accent "What can I do for you? I see we have some of invited guests on the bridge....I can assume that they are here not to cause problems?"

"Yes, they are here to simply make sure that we are not trying any funny business when contacting the Chancellor."

"I see, very well.....after Jameson opens the link and the dish I will-"

"Already done"

"Well then.....boosting signal and syncing link"

Soon Chancellor John Frederick stood before them via hologram, he was wearing his standard attire of a grey long coat and pants with some black parade shoes; looking around and nodded to the three NEF officers, however he was confused by why there wasn't any other deck officers. He then asked about the unknown guards and the status of the mission, Jessica filled him in on all of the events that had happened since they jumped in the system, the boarding and capture of the ship, then their conversations with the ship Capitan as well the deals that she had struck with the Emperor of Ecadia. Frederick looked at her and scratched his chin as he went over the stubble that was over his face listening carefully to the story he was amazed by the accomplishments that she had completed in the little time that she had been their then again she was one of the better diplomats; however she didn't really land a trade treaty with them as she didn't discuss any of the many industries that the NEF had through its territory which was understandable as really no one liked dealing with economics that was in the diplomatic department they considering it to be boring, however Frederick enjoyed talking about economics and this meet with the Emperor seemed like a good one.

"Can you patch me to him?"

"Sure..." as she opened the pad and linked the communication line to the projector, Frederick then turned to face the Emperor

"Greetings, I am Chancellor John Frederick of the New Earth Federation, you must be the Emperor of Ecadia; you wanted to meet me?"

As Frederick and Jessica talked Churchill the AI was now running back through the older messages that he missed when he was in lock down it found a particularly interesting one form this UEVN Solar, he then tracked the location of the ship, it seemed it was on the edge of the system. He archived the message as it seemed that his ship was turning to face another fleet that seemed to jump in; nevertheless he decided to do the best possible scan to determine what the ship dimensions where and what weapons they where carrying after all this ship wasn't equipped for combat, more about recon and stealth actions. However he then deliberately sent out a un-coded message to the Department of Foreign Affairs so that if they wanted to track it they would be led to the DoFA not them. In the message that he sent he included that they had contacted three nations so far two unknown and on now known

[Greater Redosia]

Aura System
Aura Prime
Guild Headquarters
United Traders Guild


The council chambers were as loud as they could ever be, the ten council members constantly argued about the "next plan of action" and the "next strategy to face the Mega-Corporations". The Guild though on the outside was a united entity fighting for free trade and preventing the Mega-Corporations from controlling the one thing many need to work off to survive, in reality is a disunited collection of traders who can barely get any actions done. One of the council members stood from his seat, "Enough of this! We must focus on our goals together! I propose going to the New Earth Federation with an offer, we cannot just stay afloat with civilian and indirect trading. It's time we make a proper move to support our goals of destroying these hideous Mega-Corporations." The council murmured silently between each other, after several minutes all the council members nodded. "We have agreed to your proposal, our only way of destroying the mega-corporations is to ally ourselves with one of these empires, we entrust that you will work out the arrangements." The council member bowed and made his way out of the room.

The council members turned back towards each other, "Hopefully this negotiation goes well, we are at a stalemate with the corporations and its bleeding us slowly. said one of the council members, "Maybe we will be able to break this stalemate with some ships we could possibly purchase from the NEF, though we can only hope for that if negotiations go somewhere and if the NEF actually trusts us." said another "For until we do begin negotiations our only hope is to continue surviving with our Aura class battle escorts, which I do say are somewhat outdated compared to other ships" the council once again nodded in agreement "Hopefully we can re-equip them as well, for it would cost way too much to produce and slowly replace them. But for now..we must continue to wait until further details arise."

Edge of Aura System
a couple hours later

The ship left the trade lane, the captain smiled at time he spent getting to the edge of the system from Aura Prime. "Perfectly on time, don't you agree?" the captain turned to the UTG Representative who only continued looking forward, "I do not care for what we already have, all I care is about what we will manage to gain with the negotiation with the New Earth Federation" silence filled the bridge as the captain sighed "I will never understand your kind...navigator, set course to the NEF capital." The navigator saluted and began quickly pressing the keys on his terminal, the captain knew something was going to happen, but he didn't care what as long as he got the representative to wherever he was damn well needed.

[GlobalControl]

INV. Vindictus - NEF ship
Edge of Ecadian Space
Domina Orisa Sectorum
January 21st

Tii

Her blush would manage to break her fur, becoming visible somewhat on the tan background of her cheek fur. She'd smile a little wider, ears drooping a little as she'd bring her other hand up to play with her hair a little bit. "T-thank you." Her hand would shift again, and would, seemingly accidentally end up upon his, digits resting atop of his. "I have a couple of sisters.. most of the species is female." She'd shift a little, hand sliding onto his further, deliberately. She'd gently grip it for a second before moving it back a little. "They both work for law enforcement.. they got a good job at least, better than mine in terms of pay, but I get to see the galaxy. Which is a bit of a joke given I could travel to who knows how many planets and explore them, but still.." She'd look at him. "..You know you're quite nice.. better than a lot of people I know.. hell.. you're rather handsome too."

---

The Emperor would give him a small wave as he'd smile a little. "Hello. I'm Emperor Restivus IV. Of the Ecadian Empire." He'd place his hands at his sides. "I was wondering who led the nation this.. ship, we temporarily commandeered is. Nice to finally meet you, though the wait wasn't very long." He'd adjust his uniform a little. "..So your diplomat, is proposing a number of agreements, and I'd like to talk them out. As I'd like to get something out of it of course. As would my little.. corporate front." He'd make a hand gesture off to the side, and a second person, a Lupine with grey fur, black hair in a bun and a white muzzle would enter into view, wearing a rather modest dress with some decorative, matching pieces, including a scarf, a cap, and a small shoulder cape. It was all green in colouration, with black trimmings. "This is Saru. Head of the Syndica Corporation, the leading designer of our navy's vessels. I'll let her talk to you, though she'll be brief as she has a place to be."

"Yes, my lord. I will be brief." She would enter view fully once the Emperor exited the feed. "Hello. I'm sure you caught my name by now. I'll cut to the chase. We produce a massive number of advanced military warships utilizing the latest technologies both, belonging to other races and our own. From where will not be said. The Emperor, would, in order to in a way strengthen our nations, have all the information you can provide on your navy, sent to us so that we can develop a hybrid warship and give that design back to you, as a sort of gift. Compliance is optional."